Ties of a Tie

"A fashion-brain usually gets overwhelmed with so many ties, but at the end it becomes a part of the visual story though an outfit". Modelling, Styling, editing credit- Aryaki Verma; Photographer-Saanvi Mohan;Assistant Photgrapher- Brinda Girish Gowda

From necks to headbands, belts and even dresses, Gen Z is rewriting the rulebook of the classic tie. What was once a symbol of boardroom formality is now turning into a playful fashion experiment across campuses and closets.

By Aryaki Verma

The necktie, once paired as school uniforms and corporate meetings, has quietly entered Gen Z fashion. Instead of hanging neatly under a collar, it is now being twisted, layered, wrapped and reinvented in ways that would make any office dress code panic.

At college campuses and fashion schools, the accessory has begun appearing in unexpected places. Wrapped around waists as belts, tied across hair as headbands, or layered over casual outfits. As if that single piece of a tie has found its new identity.

Nandini Rai Jain, 20, a political science student at Lady Indraprastha College, says , “A tie is basically a long strip of fabric. Once you stop seeing it as something meant only for the neck, the possibilities open up. I’ve used one as a belt and even wrapped it around my ponytail like a ribbon.”

"A fashion student doesn't think out of the box, rather creates her own", says Parth Arora, a fashion design student."

Gathered these ties from men section only to give this an attitude of a woman's. Modelling, Styling, editing credit- Aryaki Verma; Photographer-Saanvi Mohan;Assistant Photgrapher- Brinda Girish Gowda

Some experiments go further.Madhav Kumra, 22, a fashion styling student at Pearl academy, recalls a recent college event where a classmate turned multiple ties into an outfit.“She stitched around ten or eleven vintage ties together and made a corset-style top. It looked chaotic but very editorial.”Some also treat the accessory more casually.

Nikita Sethi, 20, a literature student at Delhi University, admits she started wearing ties simply because they looked unexpected.“I once borrowed my brother’s tie and wore it as a hand band. People kept asking where I bought it from.”

Aditya Jain, 23, a fashion enthusiast and a BJMC student based in Manipal

University, Jaipur, believes the accessory works precisely because it breaks expectations. “The tie used to be this very

serious thing. Now people wear it loose, sideways, even wrapped around their waist. It’s fun to watch something so formal become playful.”

Social media has also amplified the trend. Fashion creators regularly demonstrate creative tie styling from turning them into halter tops to layering several ties as statement pieces.

Perhaps that is Gen Z fashion in its simplest form: taking something ordinary, removing its rules, and tying it into something entirely new.

"While styling this, I found out that a necktie could sit this well beside bangles and a bindi."Modelling, Styling, editing credit- Aryaki Verma; Photographer-Saanvi Mohan;Assistant Photgrapher- Brinda Girish Gowda